911 and 311 in the News
How nurse-led triage is better connecting DC’s 911 callers to appropriate care
Staff / McCourt School of Public Policy
July 15, 2024
According to DC’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC), the District’s 911 call center is one of the busiest in the country, historically ranking behind those of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. In 2023, OUC received more than 1.7 million 911 calls for service, including more than 3,000 calls requiring CPR instructions.
The Nation’s 911 System Is on the Brink of Its Own Emergency
Stephanie Armour / KFF Health News
July 17, 2024
Just after lunchtime on June 18, Massachusetts’ leaders discovered that the statewide 911 system was down.
A scramble to handle the crisis was on.
When residents call 911, Hennepin County wants to make sure there are enough dispatchers to pick up
Christopher Magan / Star Tribune
July 14, 2024
She finished a master's degree in theater and was headed to Broadway when the pandemic hit and the world shut down. Beerling moved home to Minnesota, and while hunting for work took a pre-application exam that put her on a path to a public safety telecommunicator job with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Erik Bascome / SI Live
July 20, 2024
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Islanders are filing nearly 10,000 complaints to New York City each month for reasons ranging from illegal parking to missed trash pickups, poor roadway conditions and much more.
365 Days Of 311 In Worcester: Lessons Learned, Expansion Planned
Neal McNamara / Patch
July 15, 2024\
WORCESTER, MA — Ronald Reagan once said the scariest words in English are, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
New FCC rules bring deadlines for providers’ next-generation 911 upgrades
Colin Wood / StateScoop
July 22, 2024
The Federal Communications Commission last week adopted rules that will set deadlines for phone service providers to upgrade their technology so that they can deliver next-generation 911 calls.
February AT&T outage blocked 92 million calls and 25,000 calls to 911
Joshua Hallenbeck / Your Erie
July 23, 2024
WASHINGTON D.C. (WJET/WFXP) — The Federal Communication Commission has released its report detailing its findings over the massive AT&T outage that began at 2:45 a.m. on February 22, 2024.
'It's lifesaving' | Camp 911 teaches safety, prevention with first responders
Alana Holland / WZZM13 News
July 22, 2024
Children ages 9 through 11 spent Monday morning with Caledonia Fire Dept., Life EMS and local law enforcement to learn all about emergency prevention and reaction.
Trash? Junked cars? Parking tickets? Frequent questions for Erie's Citizen Response Center
Kevin Flowers / GoErie
July 22, 2024
Would you like to dispute that parking ticket you received downtown, or report an abandoned vehicle?
Are you curious about how to get rid of a large item?
Did you wake up to find that your garbage still on the curb?
The city of Erie's Citizen Response Center, which responds to a host of complaints and questions from the community, can help you out.
AEDs added to parks in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Julie Carey / NBC4
July 23, 2024
Visitors to Fredericksburg's parks this summer might notice something new: That city has become one of the few areas in Virginia to place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in local parks.
This extra layer of safety is thanks to strong community partnerships and donations.
Texty, a new 911 service for Detroiters, introduced by police
Jasmin Barmore / WXYZ7 News
July 23, 2024
DETROIT (WXYZ) — There’s a new 911 service that’s available to Detroiters and it’s called Texty.
All a person has to do is pick up a cellphone, text 911 and a team member from the dispatch center will respond.
911, emergency response agencies switch to new dispatching system for quicker responses
Kevin Carbery / My Leader Paper
July 23, 2024
Jefferson County 911 Dispatch and some of the emergency response agencies it serves are in the process of switching to a new dispatching system purported to quicken responses to emergencies.
Oakland voting on possible $6 million contract to bring 'critical' software to police, 911 center
Stephanie Sierra / ABC7 News
July 24, 2024
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakland Police Department is one step closer to getting a huge technology upgrade that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars. It's being voted on Tuesday night.
A police drone might respond to your next 911 call
Joann Muller / AXIOS
July 24, 2024
A new generation of crime-fighting drones is about to take flight, starting in Arizona.
Columbus won't explain critical cyber service outage hampering 311 for days
Bill Bush / The Columbus Dispatch
July 23, 2024
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said Monday that the city's 311 call center remained "operational" in the face of an ongoing cybersecurity incident that has shuttered or slowed a host of city computer systems — but he did not mention that the 311 computer isn't working.
Worcester unveils new 311 Customer Service Center
Devin Bates / Spectrum News1
July 23, 2024
WORCESTER, Mass. — The City of Worcester unveiled its new 311 Customer Service Center on Monday. Similar to the city’s existing 311 telephone line and 311 mobile application, the facility will help address people’s questions about trash, recycling, potholes, fallen trees and other issues.
Mental health professionals are now responding to 911 calls in Tampa
Aileyahu Shanes / WUSF News
July 25, 2024
Dispatchers now have another option when someone in Tampa calls 911 with a mental health emergency.
Instead of police officers, crisis counselors will respond.
Apple’s Emergency SOS Live Video calls coming to 911 centers this fall
Ben Lovejoy / 9TO5MAC
July 25, 2024
One of the features Apple announced for iOS 18 at WWDC was Emergency SOS Live Video – a way to share live or recorded video with 911 operators so they can get a better sense of what’s happening on the scene.
Sending Unarmed Responders Instead of Police: What We’ve Learned
Christie Thompson / The Marshall Project
July 25, 2024
There are more than 100 response teams nationwide, but experts say more research on their impact is needed.
Apple's SOS Live Video Gets More Support From 911 Operators Ahead of iOS 18 Launch
Ian Sherr / CNET
July 24, 2024
If you have to call 911 emergency services sometime a few months from now, you may get an option to switch on live video, kind of like a FaceTime video call. That's because emergency platforms RapidSOS and Prepared said they're integrating support for video calls and photo-sharing following Apple's iOS 18 announcement of the features last month.
Anchorage’s new administration officer cites staffing shortages as major challenge to city services
Casey Grove / Alaska Public Media
July 24, 2024
Alaska’s largest city is facing staffing shortfalls across many departments.
That’s one of the key takeaways from a transition report put together by the outgoing administration of Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, which turned over the keys to City Hall to Mayor Suzanne LaFrance at the beginning of July.